The excitement, the elation, shakes the theater at Hair (book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot) now on Broadway. It has the characteristics of other great musicals: terrific, memorable songs; sympathetic characters and a positive message of hope and joy that can't be resisted.
This cast is great: all good-lookin' terrific singer/actors, and Will Swenson as Berger is (in Act one) the dynamo that drives the production. It's more than a show -- it's an experience. You're part of a ritual, and the message of free sexuality still resonates in our bones.
With powerful lighting by Kevin Adams on Scott Pask's multi-level set with the band suspended on the structure and spectacular retro costumes by Michael McDonald, filled with stirring anthems, this show, mostly sung, is so complex it seems almost impossible to have been done. But director Diane Paulus and choreographer Karole Armitage have created a new Hair for our time, and it's a great, moving, spectacular piece of nostalgia which is, in a way, even more relevant today with it's spirit of youth, rebellion and joyfulness. A great show.
